General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party

General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party
Logo of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party
Incumbent Bounnhang Vorachit since 22 January 2016
Appointer	Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party
Term length	5 years
Inaugural holder	Kaysone Phomvihane
Formation	22 March 1955

General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party is the office of the highest-ranking member of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and the de facto leader of Laos. The General Secretary is also the Chairman of the Defense and Public Security Commission, the commander-in-chief of the Lao People's Army. From 1991 to 2006, the office was titled Chairman of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party.

The Party's Central Committee elects the General Secretary. The General Secretary usually also becomes President of Laos eventually.

Officeholders

No. [note 1]	Title	Name (birth–death)	Took office	Left office	Central Committee	Portrait
1	General Secretary	Kaysone Phomvihane (1920–1992)	22 March 1955	29 March 1991	1st–4th Central Committee (1955–1991)
	Chairman		29 March 1991	21 November 1992	5th Central Committee (1991–1996)
2	Chairman	Khamtai Siphandon (born 1924)	24 November 1992	21 March 2006	5th–7th Central Committee (1991–2006)
3	General Secretary	Choummaly Sayasone (born 1936)	21 March 2006	22 January 2016	8th–9th Central Committee (2006–2016)
4	General Secretary	Bounnhang Vorachith (born 1938)	22 January 2016	Incumbent	10th Central Committee (2016–2021)

References

1. These numbers are not official.